Heel cup construction for ladies&#39; overshoes



Apr1l-4, 1961 L. s. BROWN ETAL 2,977,691

HEEL OUP CONSTRUCTION EOE LADIES' OvERsEOEs Filed Jan. l2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIIIIIIIIIIIII' l l I 0 Iveeaozs:

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HEEL CUP CONSTRUCTION FOR LADIES OVERSHOES Filed Jan. l2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nun United States PatentaO s claims. (ci. :s6-7.3)

This invention relates to an improved heel construcftion for overshoes and similar protective shoe coverings, reference being had especially to ladies overshoes and storm boots such as are customarily manufactured of rubber, plastic and other relatively soft materials.Y TheV present application is a continuation-impart of my co pending application, Serial No. 812,198, filed May 11, '1959, now abandoned. In the construction of ladies shoe heels there has developed a rapidly increasing use of so-called spike heels. These heels are off slender high-heel variety and ytaper downwardly to form an extremely small base whose "curved bottom edge is of relatively sharp nature. When body weight is transmitted through the small base-area of the heel the curved bottom edge of the heel may exert a very considerable cutting action on the soft'rubber or Iplastic heel of anovershoe. This results in the overshoe wearing out after a very short Vperiodfof time. It islalso l"ft'mnd that the cutting effect ofthe spike heel 'is' intensiflied when the bottom of the heel is fitted with metal forhorn-like caps. In either case, cutting of they over` shoe heel occurs most frequently along the line of juncltion of the side wall of the overshoe heel with its'` bottom vwhere'the overshoe is most vulnerable. t

It has been proposed to employ heel cups which are` fitted into the heel well of an overshoe to provide a rein- 'forciement, but these devices lia"e not proven to be com- -pletely satisfactory for at least two reasons. First, there has continued to be'prevalent excessiveV wear occurring at the junction line of the heel side wall andits base.

"This may be due to body weight being transmitted directly t- Itthrough the heel `cup edges to those portions of the overshoe comprising the line of junction. Secondly, there has been experienced `difliculty both in holding the heel 'cup inthe heel well of an overshoe in a properly secured manner,`and also-in a position such that the shoe heelwill rnot come into contact with the upper edges ofthe cup when the heel is inserted in the overshoeg' t It is a chief object'of the' invention to deal with the problems indicated and in'this connection I'have disthe shoe Yheel isA necessarily displaced forwardly a short distance. As a result of this the curved heel edge becomes spaced away from the junction line of the-overshoe heeland its sidewall portionandwear at this portion fof the overshoeV is materiallyreduced. Y

i Another object. of the' invention is to provide a buffer heel type construction for a rprotective shoe covering including a specially constructed heel receptacle which may be permanently built into the heel either in the form of Bheel cup or in some other suitable manner.v p

2,977,6911 Patented Apr. 4, 1261 Still another object of the invention is to devise a heel cup of the character indicated wherein the cup is so constructed as to provide for the upper edge portions of the cup being compacted to furnish a perimeter which may be expanded and contracted as a means of resiliently engaging the cup inside of an overshoe heel well in order to prevent accidental removal of the heel cup. With this objective in mind we have devised a special slotted side wall arrangement by means of which the upper edges of the cup may be contracted and expanded.

These and other objects and novel features will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

, Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of the improved heel cup of the invention; I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the heel cup shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a symmetrical central cross section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of an overl shoe heel shown with a ladys shoe heel of the spike type supported therein and further indicating the heel cup of the invention arranged to provide a heel receptacle in which the bottom of the spike heel is retained;

-,Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged cross sectional view taken approximately on Vthe line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan cross sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5; Y

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional View showing the heel cup of the invention permanently secured within an overshoe of the type having a lining and indicating a shoe heel in a slightly raised position;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, but further showing the heel in arfully seated position in the overshoe heel;

Fig. 10 is a plan View of a modiiied heel cup construction of the invention;

Fig. 11 is a cross section taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. l0; and Y Fig. 12 isV a cross section taken on the line 12--12 of Fig. 10. v

Referring more in detail to the drawings, attentionv s ndirected to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive Whichillustrates one preferred form of the invention consisting of a novel heel cup C adapted to be inserted in the heel well of an overshoe as noted Vin Figs. 5-7. As indicated in Figs. 1-4 the improved heel cup of the invention comprises a cup shaped heel receptacle having a at bottom or base 2, a curved sidewall 4,'which iiares upwardly and outwardly, and an inclined forward wall 6. The curved sidewall 4 merges with the at bottom 2 along a curved line of junction 8 as best shown in Fig. 2. It is pointed o t that .he upper edges of the heel cup include a relatively large perimeter as compared with a similar dimension of the bottom 2.

In accordance with the invention, we construct the curved wall 4 with bufIer means 10 which, in the preferred form shown in Figs. l-7 may be, for example, a thickened wall section consisting of a rounded projection or rib extending inwardly from the peripheral surface of the heel cup along a curved path which is located above and in spaced relation to the said flat bottom 2, and which is intended to conform to the contour of the she heel to be received. The butler 10 is designed so that it is at its maximum thickness at Vthe rearmost part of the heel and decreases in thickness -to gradually merge with the sidewall portion at opposite sides thereof near the front wall 6 as further shown'in Figs. 2V and 3.

When the heel cup is mounted inthe heel 12 of an over shoe and a spike shoe heel as 14 is inserted as shown in Fig. 5, the curved surface of the spike heel will necessarily come into contact with the buffer at points well above the bottom 2 as shown in Fig. 5, and the bottom edge of the spike heel 14 is thereby displaced forwardly a short distance along the longitudinal axis of the overshoe. Thus, body weight transmitted through the curved edge of the shoe heel 14 and the curved edge of the heel cup is shifted forwardly and the cup edge is prevented from coming into contact with the overshoe 12 along its line of junction 8 and is held at all times during Wear in spaced relation to line 8. This substantially spaced relationship of the heel 14 from the junction line 8 if. more clearly indicated in Fig. 7 wherein the numeral 16 denotes the actual space between the members referred to.

As will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 7, the space 16 extends all the way around the bottom edge of the heel 14. We have found that this spacing 16 is highly effective in holding the more vulnerable junction line of the overshoe heel away from the sharp edge of the shoe heel so that wear is greatly reduced at this particular area. Moreover, by distributing body weight over the entire bottom surface of the heel cup much better wearing qualities are realized.

In mounting the heel cup of the invention in an overshoe heel, we also provide means for compressing or cortracting the upper perimeter of the cup so that this member after having been forced down into the well of the shoe heel may have its top edges expand outwardly to a slight degree and resiliently engage against the overshoe to resist removal. For this purpose we may provide the heel cup with vertical slots as, for example, 20 ani 22 as shown in Figs. l, 8 and 9. These slots extend in one preferred embodiment from the top edge of the cup downwardly at the two front corners thereof for an appreciable distance as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. If desired the slots may occur at other points in the heel cup and may be of different shapes and sizes. It is also pointed out that in the case of a rubber overshoe heel a certain amount of stretching may take place so that both the elasticity of the overshoe heel and the expansion of the heel cup operate to hold the cup securely in the heel.

In Figs. 8 and 9 we have also illustrated a heel cup inserted in an overshoe constructed with a lining. The heel cup may be manufactured to comprise an integral part of the heel, or it may be inserted later. In either case the slotted cup construction allows the upper edges to be contracted and thereafter to expand and become embedded in the overshoe lining. Numeral 38 notes the heel cup having slots 37 with the cup being located in the heel of an overshoe 30, having a lining 32. In this arrangement it will be seen that the upper perimeter of the cup is embedded in the lining 32 and as a result the cup is not only securely held, but its upper edge is caused to merge with the surface of the lining so as to avt id interference with a shoe heel 34 which is forced into the overshoe heel as shown in Fig. 9. Figs. 8 and 9 also illustrate the buffer feature with the heel 34 being held away from the side wall and rear portion of the overshoe heel 30 by means of the buffer portion 36 of the heel cup 38.

rl'hus it will be seen that the arrangement in Figs. 1 to 6 is intended to illustrate the use of the buier type lheel cup of the invention as an insert member which may be furnished in varying sizes to resiliently engage in a range of overshoe heel sizes. Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate use of a bufrer heel cup with a slotted side wall for either a permanent type of insert applied when the overshoe is being manufactured, or one to be inserted after the overshoe is made.

In addition to these forms of the invention, it should be understood that we may also vary the shape and nature of the buffer means in various ways. For example, we may provide the buffer in the form of vertically extending ribs 40 as shown in Fig.l0. These ribs 40 may be located at the rearmost part of the heel cup and may be of a substantially rounded contour as indicated in Fig. l2. The ribs 40 may also be spaced apart and be employed in any desired number and size and may be formed either as an integral part of a thickened portion 42 or may be formed independently of such a thickcned portion.

While we have shownV and described preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that the novel buffer means herein disclosed are not limited to the specific forms shown, but may take various other forms.

We claim:

1. A heel cup member for use in the well of a ladys overshoe heel to protectively receive a spike heel of a ladys overshoe therein, said heel cup including a Aflat bottom section of relatively rigid material, a front wall and a curved sidewall portion rising upwardly from the flat bottom section to define a rheel receptacle, inwardly projecting buler means located around the inner surface of the said curved sidewall portion of the heel cup in a' position to engage against a rear vertical surface of a spike heel in the heel receptacle and to maintain a rear portion of the overshoe heel in spaced relationship to said rear surface of the spike heel.

2. A structure according to claim 1 in which the inwardly projecting buffer means is interrupted to present a plurality of spaced apart vertical ribs.

3. A heel cup member for use in the Well of a ladys overshoe heel to maintain the inner wall surfaces of the ladys overshoe heel in protectively spaced relationship with respect to a spike heel of a ladys shoe engaged in the overshoe heel, said heel cup comprising a fiat bottom section of relatively rigid material, a front wall and a curved sidewall portion rising upwardly from the at bottom section to define a heel receptacle, said sidewall portion presenting a thickened wall section consisting of a rounded projection extending inwardlyA from the peripheral surface of the cup along a curved path which is located above and in spaced relation to the said at bottom section of the heel cup thereby to guide the spike heel to the center of the heel cup and distribute weight and strain.

4. A structure according to claim 2 in which the wall portions of the heel cup are formed with vertical slots to provide for the normal top circumference of the heel cup being reduced when the heel cup is compressively maintained in the said overshoe heel.

5. In combination a ladys overshoe having a heel well formed therein, and -bufer means for protectively receiving a spike heel of a ladys shoe in said heel well, said buffer means consisting of a rigid bottom section, a

.frJnt wall, and a curved sidewall rising upwardly from the flat bottom section, said curved wall section having a thickened ridge extending inwardly in a position to contact an intermediate rear surface of the said spike -heel for the purpose of guiding the spike heel toward -the center ofthe rigid at bottom section in order to distribute body weight forwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,209,660 Baum Dec. 26, 1916 1,469,010 Paladino Sept. 25. 1923 1,730,894 Marshall Oct. 8, 1929 Y 2,108,572 Wilkinson Feb. 1S, 1938 2,408,564 Lea Oct. 1, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 28,744 VNorway Apr. 15, 1918 

